Conventional cell search techniques employed by user equipment (UE) to access legacy radio access networks (RANs) such as GSM EDGE Radio Access Networks (GERAN) and Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Networks (UTRAN) in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRAN) consist of employing received signal strength indicator (RSSI) scans to detect these legacy RANs. RSSI is a value or measure which indicates the transmission power level of a predetermined center frequency within a predetermined bandwidth transmitted from a base transceiver station (BTS) or Node B in a GERAN or UTRAN cell, respectively. The UE measures the received signal strength at each predetermined interval and generates an RSSI at each predetermined interval. The frequencies corresponding to the highest RSSI measurements are recorded and form a candidate list on which to search for a UTRAN network.
Such conventional cell searches employing RSSI scans may be time consuming and resource intensive (i.e., they may reduce UE battery life). For example, t the result of the UE's search for legacy cells might not return results in certain instances, such as where two UTRAN cells are closely co-located (e.g., overlapping cells) or where a GERAN cell is in close proximity to a UTRAN cell.